The invention relates to a configuration for charging in a telephone network such that a first subscriber pays for at least a part of the charges for connections established to him by a second subscriber, and to a method for operating such a configuration.
In modern business life, telephone contacts are of great importance and in recent years their significance has increased steadily in connection with the rapid development of modern telephony and also with the associated electronic data processing. There is no end to this development in sight.
In this connection, an increasing number of companies are practicing the setting-up of no-charge or low-charge call numbers such as the 0130 or 0800 service (free of charge), or the 0180 services (reduced charge). This practice is based on the concept that customers value no-charge or low-charge telephone contact as an essentially provided service of the corresponding company, and like to utilize it, whereas in many cases they otherwise would not conduct telephone conversations charged at normal rates, and then would probably not maintain the contact to the corresponding company.
However, setting up no-charge call numbers has the disadvantage that these call numbers are, in principle, accessible without restriction to anybody and can therefore be misused which, indeed, happens in practice. Thus, malicious callers can generate, possibly even by means of automatically generated calls, a considerable charge burden for the company that has set up a no-charge or low-charge call number. In addition, such practices have the consequence that the corresponding call number is occupied an unnecessary number of times and largely loses its value for the remaining customers.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved generic configuration and a method for operating such a configuration which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known methods and devices of this general type in such a way that a misuse of the provision for establishing a no-charge or low-charge telephone contact with a particular subscriber can be largely prevented.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a configuration for charging in a telephone network wherein a first subscriber pays for at least a part of the charges incurred for connections established by a second subscriber to the first subscriber. The configuration includes a telephone network and an intelligent network linked thereto. A charge concession database is provided for storing identifiers selected from the group consisting of call numbers and call number ranges. Control means, configured within the intelligent network, is provided for allocating charges for a connection established from a second subscriber to a first subscriber by comparing a call number of the second subscriber with the identifiers. Additionally, an access device is provided for performing an operation selected from the group consisting of inputting, modifying, and deleting at least one of the identifiers stored in the charge concession database.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is also provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for charging in a telephone network wherein a first subscriber pays for at least a part of the charges incurred for connections established by a second subscriber to the first subscriber. The method includes linking a telephone network to an intelligent network. Identifiers selected from the group consisting of call numbers and call number ranges are stored within a charge concession database. The intelligent network is provided with control means to allocate charges for a connection established from a second subscriber to a first subscriber by comparing a call number of the second subscriber with the identifiers. Additionally an access device is used to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of inputting, modifying, and deleting at least one of the identifiers stored in the charge concession database.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, there is provided the essential idea of granting the authorization for no-charge or low-charge calls only to selected further network subscribers, and also of withdrawing this authorization again, if necessary, within a short time, on the basis of the capabilities of an intelligent network (IN) on the part of a first network subscriber. By limiting the authorized circle, a predetermined selection is made right from the start and thus misuse by unknown third parties is prevented. After a misuse by one of the privileged authorized parties has been found, the authorization can also be withdrawn again from him in a simple and rapid manner. Thus, a limited number of predetermined subscriber numbers or identifiers of authorized parties is continuously stored in the database which is why it can also be called a xe2x80x9cwhite listxe2x80x9d.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the charge concession database can also be organized in the manner of a xe2x80x9cblack listxe2x80x9d, i.e. contain only call numbers or identifiers of subscribers to whom no freedom or concession of charges is to be granted. Here, too, continuous updating by deleting or adding new entries is possible analogously to the first type of embodiment. Compared with the first manner of the embodiment of the principle (white list), this variant has the advantage that the circle of authorized persons is not restricted a priori, i.e. new customers that have not yet been registered can also enjoy the concession. The price for this advantage in advertising strategy is that one has to accept a slightly higher risk of misuse.
Finally, it is also possible to store certain ranges of call numbers for authorized persons in the database, for instance certain initial numbers or sequences of initial numbers of call numbers or also certain other identification features.
So that a normal subscriber of a fixed network or mobile radio telephone network can control the charge concession for his customers, a trigger point for triggering access to the charge concession database must be set in his associated service switching point, via which trigger point the setting-up of a connection to the service control point (SCP) is activated to which the charge concession database is linked in the manner of a service data point (SDP).
If, in contrast, the first subscriberxe2x80x94as a subscriber of Universal Personal Telecommunication (UPT) or of a cordless telephony network (CTM)xe2x80x94has a call number of the intelligent network, then the service switching point of the caller, instead, sets up switching to a SCP, in connection with which the charge concession facility can be activated. The trigger point is omitted in this case. This similarly applies to the case where the first subscriber subscribes to an IN-controlled xe2x80x9cNumber Portabilityxe2x80x9d service, which should find widespread use in the future. Here, too, no special trigger point is required in the associated SSP because the associated switching point builds up a connection to the SCP, in any case, for such a subscriber.
In a so-called xe2x80x9cdistributedxe2x80x9d intelligent network, the functions described can be controlled by a service node (SN) since there is no service control point as such in this case.
There are basically two possibilities for establishing and managing the charge concession database: the more comfortable possibility, which, in any case, is preferred for large companies, consists of management via the Internet or, more precisely, via a so-called web Customer Service Control (CSC). The second possibility consists of utilizing a normal telephone as an access device for the database, where entries, changes or deletions can be carried out by means of the Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF) method. In both cases, the first subscriber must naturally authenticate himself in a suitable manner, for example by entering a password (especially in the case of Internet access) or a PIN (especially when using a mobile telephone for inputting) or by other identification means, for example also of a physical type (fingerprint, retina pattern).
In accordance with another feature of the invention, notification is provided to the caller concerning the granting of eliminated or reduced charges of a call. This is advantageous since such a reduction or elimination of charges can no longer be seen from the call number itself in the proposed solution. As a rule, a voice message will be generated for the caller for this purpose. In special cases, however, other ways of notification are also possible, for example by using the Short Message Service (SMS) for mobile radio subscribers.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a configuration for charging in a telephone network and method for operating such a configuration, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.